


Can We (Re)Unite?

by second_hand_heaven



Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bassist Tim Drake, Conner Kent's magical voice, Fluff, Hickeys, Hurt/Comfort, Love Song Dedication, M/M, Singer Conner Kent, Steph Brown is a bamf, The Titans were a band, musician au, side Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 07:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14184120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/second_hand_heaven/pseuds/second_hand_heaven
Summary: It's been six months since The Titans, interstellar indie rock group, split up, and Tim and Kon haven't spoken since. Out of the blue, Tim gets an invite to Kon's solo show in Gotham.There he is. His cheekbones glitter under the stage lights. Tim's heart skips a beat. Kon’s up on stage, front and centre, right where he belongs. Tim aches that he's not up there beside him.





	Can We (Re)Unite?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first finished TimKon piece (there is a larger fic on the way)! 
> 
> TimKon with StephCass on the side because mlm wlw solidarity.   
> Tim is a bass player because both he and bassists are underappreciated. 
> 
> As always, thanks to TantalumCobalt for putting up with me while writing this. Any and all mistakes are mine.
> 
> (Title somewhat taken from 'The Ballad of Michael Valentine' by The Killers)

 

Tim stares blankly at the screen. 

It’s three in the morning and his laptop is emitting the only light in his apartment. He's got a studio session early tomorrow, plus another meeting with his new label at noon. He should be asleep, but he can't stop staring at the email. 

_ The Cave proudly presents _

_ Kon Kent _

_ In an intimate, live show, Friday 10pm.  _

_ Tickets at the door, $10 admission…  _

He pays no attention to the rest of flyer, just stares at  _ his _ name. Kon is in town. Kon is doing a show. Kon invited him to his show. He checks the details of the email itself. It's not part of a mailing list, it's only been sent to him. 

It's not computing. 

He should ignore it. He shouldn't go. What would be the point, anyway? It's only going to hurt, seeing Kon up on stage without him. 

He's been miserable since The Titans split. He can admit that. He misses Kon. He won't admit that, not even to Steph. She still knows. Damn her. But more than whatever Tim had hoped they could be, he and Conner were friends. Were. They haven’t spoken since the band broke up. Six months and not a word. And now, an invite to a show? What does it mean? Does Kon just want to rub his success in Tim’s face? No, he’s not the type. So why? 

He stares at the email until his alarm goes off at 6.15am.

 

* * *

 

“Nice place,” Steph snorts, and Tim isn't sure if she's joking or not. Sure, the bar is a little shabbier than some of the places he'd played in the last year or two, but it's certainly not the worst. He’s not sure why he decided to come, but having Steph and Cass with him makes him feel a little braver. 

“You guys go save a table, I'll grab some drinks?” Tim offers.

Cass nods, linking her arm through her girlfriend’s before they disappear through the growing crowd. 

The carpet is sticky beneath his feet. Must be a good venue, Tim thinks as he heads for the bar. 

It takes longer than he thought to order drinks, with half a dozen people blocking his way, asking for an autograph. He manages to slip away without drawing too big a crowd, drinks in hand.

When he finds Cass and Steph again, they’ve commandeered a table right at the front of the stage. Tim’s gut coils. Cass winks at him as he approaches, and he knows it was her doing. Damn her. He’ll ask Bruce for a new sister, that will teach her.

He hands them their drinks and takes a seat next to Cass. 

The guitar begins, then the lighting. A figure, draped in a leather jacket, takes centre stage. There he is. His cheekbones glitter under the stage lights. Tim's heart skips a beat. Kon’s up on stage, front and centre, right where he belongs. Tim aches that he's not up there beside him. 

“How we doing tonight?” he asks the crowd, his signature grin wide. He's met with a chorus of cheers. He makes eye contact with Tim for a moment, but he looks away so quickly that Tim thinks he must have imagined it. Kon turns to his backing band, starting the set with a “one, two.”

He starts with a fan-favourite Titan’s song. Tim can pick every flaw in the bassline. The rest of the set is a mix of Titan’s stuff, Kon’s own work, and the odd cover. Kon’s energy is electric, exciting the whole room. 

And then, the final song. “Here's a little something I wrote especially for tonight's show,” Conner says in a stage whisper. The crowd cheers and the guitar slowly fades in. 

It's good, Tim has to admit. There's an edge to it that has him nodding his head along with it. And then he makes the mistake of listening to the words. It hits him like a freight train. Is it… is it him? It can't be. But what if...? No. There's no point hoping for the impossible. 

The song begins to wind down. Kon moves to the front of the stage, and if Tim didn’t know better, he’d say Kon was looking right at him.

_ “I know he'll be here tonight.” _

There's no mistaking it, Kon's looking right at him. Waiting. But Tim can't move, can't say anything. He's not even sure he's breathing. He just watches the heavy rise and fall of Conner's chest. 

Kon's smile turns self-deprecating, but no less pretty. He shakes his head and looks out, past Tim to the gathered crowd. “Thank you everybody! Good night!” He waves, blowing a kiss that sails over Tim's head, and hastily walks off stage. 

Tim only peels his eyes of the stage when Cass nudges his shoulder. Steph stares at him expectantly. “I said,” she repeats, “what the hell was that about?”

Tim blinks. “I have no idea.” And it's the truth. 

She rolls her eyes at him. “Talk to him, you idiot. Now’s your chance.”

His chance to set things right with Conner. If nothing else, he can get some closure. He’ll be damned if he doesn’t take it. 

 

Tim shoulders his way into the tiny backstage area. “Kon?” he calls out, half hoping the singer had already left. 

Just his luck, he spots Kon's figure leaning against a doorway. “Conner?”

Conner's shoulders jump at the sound of his name. He spins, a little unbalanced, to face Tim. “Tim! Uhh hi?” He ushers Tim into what looks like Conner's makeshift changeroom.

“Hi yourself. That was some show tonight.”

Kon looks down at him, eyes wide at the praise. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Tim nods, trying and failing to think of something to say. 

“It feels weird being up on stage alone.”

Tim frowns. “You weren't alone.”

“That's not what I mean, Tim,” and he looks at Tim with such an earnest gaze, just like when he was on stage, that Tim can't formulate a coherent thought. “What did you think?”

“Of the new song? Not bad. Could do with some more bass, I think. Maybe a better bass guitarist too.” This is familiar territory, playful flirting they can both brush off later. He knows he shouldn’t, knows they need to talk, but it’s just easy to pretend that everything's okay right now.

“You know any good bass players?” Tim’s not the only one to fall into old habits.

“Yeah,” he says with a shrug, “but I hear he's a dick to work with.”

Kon's grin widens. “It's a good thing I know my way around a-”

“Kon!” Steph barges in, wrapping Kon in a tight a hug. “That was great!”

“Thank you,” he smiles, “it’s good to see you two again.” He holds out an arm for Cass, who surprisingly takes it and leans in to embrace Kon. Kon's face turns white. Did Cass say something to him? Tim feels himself pale. 

Cass releases him, face neutral as ever. She moves to Steph's side, linking arms with her again. It's so good to see her so comfortable being tactile with Steph in public. 

“Just wanted to see you before we left.” Steph says to Kon before she turns to Tim. “Cass and I are heading home, you coming with or... ?” There's something else in her tone that throws Tim for a loop. It's not her usual teasing about his hopeless crush, but something more concerned. 

Tim glances at Kon. They need to talk, and now is as good a time as ever. “I'll find my own way.”

She kisses his cheek. “Be safe.” 

He waves as she and Cass leave. Tim glances over at Kon, who looks like he's about to pass out. “You okay there, Kon?”

“Yep.” He nods tightly.  

Tim's eyes narrow. “What did she say to you?”

“Said I needed to talk to you. And since I don't play guitar much, she says I won't be needing any fingers. Something like that.”

“Big sisters are like that,” Tim shrugs, trying to act nonplussed. Internally he's freaking. Confrontation makes his skin itch. 

“Umm,” Kon says, rubbing at the back of his neck, “did- did you mean what you said?”

Deflect deflect deflect. “About the bass? Yeah. With a few tweaks, it could be epic.”

But Conner’s not in the mood for games. “Tim.” 

Tim sighs, steeling himself. “What do you want me to say?”

“The truth. I need the truth.” They both do. 

The truth. “I hated it. I hated seeing you up there without me.”  The truth Tim's been trying to ignore for the last six months. It's time to face the music, so to speak. “The truth is, I miss you. It was the right call to break up the band, I stand by that. But I miss you. I didn't think...” he takes a shaky breath. “I didn't think we'd end up like this.”

This. Alone. Not speaking, not seeing each other every day. No phone calls, no jam sessions, no closure.

“I thought it was me. I thought I did something, said something wrong. I thought that’s why you wanted the split, because you couldn’t stand to work with me anymore.”

What? No. How could he think that? 

“It wasn't your fault. We all wanted different things.” Tim wanted Kon, plain and simple. But he couldn't, wouldn't try. Not while the bad was together. Tim wouldn't jeopardise that. And then the band split, and he thought, maybe, they could have had a chance. He should have known better. But now, with the way Kon is looking at him, maybe...

“And now what do you want?”

You. 

He thinks of Kon up on stage, solo, and he knows what he wants, where he wants to be. He wants it so badly his chest aches. His eyes sting with unshed tears. It hurts, but he needs to get the words out, even if it kills him. He can’t keep pretending he’s okay, that he’s whole. He knows where he belongs. “I want to be by your side.” His voice cracks on the final sound.

Conner reaches out for him, and it’s too much. Tim just shatters. He's pulled against Kon's firm chest, his head tucked beneath Kon's chin. Broad arms wrap around him, just like Kon's voice, soothing him with sweet-sounding words that Tim can't understand. Kon holds him there, holds him steady as sobs wrack Tim’s body. And Kon holds him there, until his tears subside and his breathing evens out again.

In Conner's embrace, he feels whole again. Fuck, he missed this. He pulls back, just enough to look up at Kon’s face. “I missed you.” He tries to say more, but the lump in his throat catches any stray words before he can say them.

Tim watches Kon’s Adam’s apple bob. “I missed you too. Listen, that song tonight?” He waits for Tim’s nod. “It was you. It was always you.”

Kon's looking at him with the same sincerity from the end of the show. Impossible. And yet…

“Conner? Please tell me you want this. Us.” This time, he won’t let Kon walk away. Not without trying. “I want to be with you.”

Conner leans down, closing the gap between them, answering Tim with a kiss.

They pull apart, a soft smile on Kon’s lips. “Okay.”

Tim links his fingers with Conner’s. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

* * *

 

Tim’s laptop is the only light in his apartment. He's staring at the screen, the little notification number glowing red. Two new messages from Steph: a link to some gossip news site, and an assortment of thumbs up, winking, eggplant, and water emojis. He opens the link, and is met with slightly blurry images of him leaving the club earlier that night, his hand held in Conner’s. 

_ ‘Titans to return? Rockers Tim Drake and Kon Kent were seen sneaking out together after Kent's solo gig…’ _

The body next to him stirs. “Tim?”

“I’m here,” he says without turning, his eyes glued to the screen.

Kon rests his chin on Tim’s shoulder. “What’s this?”

He angles the screen so Conner can see it better. “Seems someone caught us leaving together.”

“Is that an issue?” Kon asks, wrapping his arms around Tim’s waist. “I know how much you like your privacy.”

It’s true. His mentor taught him the importance of keeping the personal out of the spotlight. But Tim’s not afraid. Not if he has got Conner at his side. “It’s okay. They pretty much gal-pal’ed us, anyway.”

Conner presses butterfly kisses down Tim’s neck. “We can’t have that now, can we?” he murmurs against Tim’s skin, before he bites down at the juncture of Tim’s shoulder. Tim’s laptop shuts. He sucks at the spot, alternating between biting and laving over the sore spot with his tongue.

“Maybe a little higher,” Tim says, tightly. “Have to make sure they can’t miss it.”

He feels Kon’s smile against his skin. “I can do that.”

 

_ FIN _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. Kudos and comments are more than welcome.
> 
> Feel free to come chat with me on my [tumblr](http://second-hand-heaven.tumblr.com/)


End file.
